The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in which the administration of President Richard Nixon attempted to cover up a break-in at the Watergate hotel in Washington, D.C., eventually leading to multiple prosecutions and President Nixon's resignation, the only time in history a US President has resigned.

Forrest Gump was invited by Nixon to stay at the Watergate Hotel, where he saw people with flashlights in another room of the complex, outside of his window. Assuming that their lights had gone out due to a loss of power, he called the Watergate office to tell them about it, and security guard Frank Wills responds, implying that Forrest set the stage for the scandal to be discovered. News footage of Nixon announcing his resignation was shown in the film.